(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that subjects a substrate to processing.
(2) Description of Related Art
Substrate processing apparatuses are used to subject various substrates such as semiconductor substrates, substrates for liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, optical disks, magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, photomasks, and other substrates to various types of processing.
For example, a substrate processing apparatus discussed in JP 2007-189138 A includes an indexer block, a processing block, and an interface block. A substrate is carried into the indexer block, and the substrate is subjected to film formation processing in the processing block. The substrate after the film formation processing is carried into an exposure device via the interface block, and is subjected to exposure processing in the exposure device. The substrate after the exposure processing is returned to the processing block via the interface block, and is subjected to development processing in the processing block. The substrate after the development processing is carried out of the indexer block.
A plurality of transport mechanisms for transporting the substrate is provided in the substrate processing apparatus. In order to improve the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus, the transport efficiency of the substrate by the plurality of transport mechanisms is required to be enhanced.